SSS Awakening: Rebirth of the Strongest Vampire God novel Chapter 366

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Chapter 366: Careful what you wish for

The apprentices stiffened, panic flaring across their soot-streaked faces. They had been caught. A few of the other students ducked their heads, fearful of being singled out for punishment, and instinctively stepped away from Damon. The master smith’s lips curled into a smug sneer.

"And who are you, intruder? Some cloaked pretender stirring up delusions among my worthless pupils?"

Damon didn’t flinch. He tilted his head slightly. "Interesting choice of words," he murmured. "Worthless pupils? If that’s what you think of them, then you’ve already told me everything I need to know about your ’mastery.’"

The master smith’s face flushed crimson. He quickly composed himself and sneered at Damon, puffing up his chest in front of the crowd. "Big words coming from a novice. Do you even know the difference between pig iron and steel, boy? These students are mine to discipline. If you don’t leave now, I’ll have you thrown into the street."

"You talk of discipline," Damon chuckled. "But all I see is cowardice. You break hammers to blame the hands. You sabotage furnaces to shame the students. You crush spirits to hide your own mediocrity. That’s not mastery. That’s fraud."

The students’ whispers grew louder. Many started gossiping. There were already rumors and suspicions, and Damon’s words only made everything worse. The master’s face flushed with fury. "How dare you—!" He trembled with rage. "What is the meaning of this insolence? Some cloaked charlatan whispering poison into my apprentices’ ears?"

The master sneered, striding forward. "You dare undermine me in my own academy? You, who have not earned the right to step foot in these halls, presume to tell my students they are worth something?" His voice rose to a theatrical pitch, meant for the audience now gathering in the corridor. "Very well. If you believe you know talent better than I, then prove it."

He jabbed a finger at Damon, his voice venomous. "I issue you a challenge. Here. Now. Before the eyes of my apprentices and the reputation of this academy. If you can forge even a single weapon better than one of my own, I will admit your claim. But if you fail!" his eyes glittered with spite. "Then you will crawl from this place in shame, and these students will know you for the fraud you truly are."

The room went still. The students’ eyes widened, and everyone began to murmur amongst themselves. No one had expected it to escalate so quickly.

However, Damon only grinned. He did not come looking for a fight, but this could work wonderfully in his favor.

The master smith’s lips curled into a cruel smile. "What’s the matter, boy? Cat got your tongue? Or are you already realizing your mistake?" His mocking laugh echoed across the chamber, bolstered by the authority he wielded here. "This is my domain, my forge, and my name that carries the weight of legend. You think you can sully it with words alone? Let your hammer speak, if you dare."

Damon chuckled and finally responded. "Okay. Fine. I agree to the public duel, but I won’t be participating in it personally. You do not qualify to stand on the same stage as me. Instead, I will be using one of your worthless failures to compete on my behalf. Does that work for you, or are you too scared to face someone whom you have repeatedly, time and again, labelled as trash?"

"You..." the man sputtered, his sneer faltering for the briefest instant before twisting into scorn. "You’ll what? Hide behind a student? Use one of these so-called failures to fight in your place? Pathetic! You’re admitting you don’t even dare face me yourself!"

Damon laughed."No," he said smoothly. "I’m saying that I don’t need to lift a hammer to prove you’re a fraud. If one of your own ’worthless failures’ can forge a better weapon than you, what does that say about your so-called mastery?"

The crowd rippled with gasps and whispers. Several apprentices who had always been overlooked straightened instinctively, their hearts pounding at the sheer audacity of the words.

The master smith’s face twisted with fury, veins bulging on his temple. "You arrogant wretch!" he spat. "Very well! So be it! I accept your mockery of a challenge. Choose your pawn! When they fail, and they will fail, it will be your shame that echoes through this hall!"